Magic Johnson offers blunt advice to Russell Westbrook

“First, take accountability. If I don’t play well, say I don’t play well,” Johnson said. “When I didn’t perform well in ’84 against the Celtics, I admitted that. I took accountability.”

Johnson pointed out that he was widely blamed for the Lakers’ loss in the 1984 NBA Finals to the Celtics. He also discussed how fans blamed him for the dismissal of coach Paul Westhead in 1981, and his response to boos at that time was to put his head down and simply perform his best, which won the fans over.

“That’s what Russell’s gotta do. Quit trying to fight the media, quit trying to fight the fans, and just say, ‘You know what? I didn’t play well, but I’m gonna play better,’ and go out there on the court and perform,” Johnson said. “That’s how you stop all the things that’s going on. But you can’t do it by trying to combat them and trying to be mad at the fans or at the media.”

Westbrook would probably do well to follow Johnson’s advice. After all, going 0-for-11 from the field and then rating the performance as “solid” is not going to win any sympathy or support from Lakers fans. Responding to hecklers is not going to make things better either.

The bigger problem for Westbrook might be that he seems to have lost the faith of his teammates. If he wants to perform as Johnson said, he will have to adapt his style of play, and he simply has not shown the willingness or ability to do that since joining the organization.